Informed Sources

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

The Flight of the Dark Bird

Today is Johnny Cash’s birthday. Every time this date rolls around the calendar, I’m reminded of a night a few years ago down in Annapolis, Maryland.

﻿

Cover of "Johnny Cash" by Frank Moriarty

﻿

In 1997 I wrote a biography of Johnny Cash’s life and music. Of course, the book covered the addition of Marty Stuart as Johnny’s lead guitar player in the years after a very young Stuart cut his country teeth playing with Lester Flatt.

Marty has put out some fantastic albums, not just the country hits people may know him for, but concept albums like The Pilgrim and Badlands: Ballads of the Lakota. He’s also a great photographer, an excellent writer, and a preserver of country music history.

He rarely gets into this part of the country here in the Northeast, so when I heard he was playing the Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis with his aptly named Fabulous Superlatives (Kenny Vaughan is as good a guitarist as Marty) I made arrangements to see the show.

After the great set I made my way backstage to meet Marty, intending to give him a copy of my Cash bio. After a warm greeting from Marty, I handed him the book. He smiled, and said, “You know what? This book is sitting right on my coffee table at home.” Obviously, it made my night.

﻿

"Country Music: The Masters," a book of Marty Stuart's photography.

Marty remained best friends with Johnny even after leaving Cash to begin a solo career. In fact, the cover of Marty’s latest photography book is a picture of Johnny taken just days before he died.

When I saw Marty in Ocean City, New Jersey more recently after Johnny had passed away, Stuart had written a moving tribute to Johnny called “Dark Bird.” This link leads to the song and its beautiful video. I think you’ll find it well worth a listen and a viewing, especially today…

Frank Blank, aka...

I've been writing professionally for nearly four decades, beginning with music reviews and interviews with artists ranging from Grace Slick to Robin Trower in the 1970s, then expanding my fields of interest to include motorsports, aerospace, and the national space program. My latest book project is 'Modern Listener's Guide: Jimi Hendrix,' with a foreword by Derek Trucks and an afterword by John McLaughlin. During my writing career I've authored more than a dozen nonfiction books, and contributed articles and commentary to national publications. As a musician - sometimes working under my musical alias Frank Blank - I've recorded albums both signed to record labels and independently, and performed live in an array of bands and projects. From the top of Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39A to the famous countdown clock, from the stages of a myriad of venues to arena dressing rooms, from the pits of the NHRA to NASCAR's garage area, I've been fortunate to get up close and personal with the things I love. For more, visit my website at www.loudfast.net

Did you enjoy the latest post?

If you enjoyed this blog...

...please visit my other LOUDFASTBLOGS:

AEROSPACE PERCEPTIONSManned spaceflight is at a crossroads, and fascinating technical innovations characterize the realms of modern flight. Not a dry technical compilation, AEROSPACE PERCEPTIONS is the place to learn about and focus on the excitement and wonder of rising into the skies and beyond.http://aerospaceperceptions.blogspot.com/

From a pre-teen pit rat “helping” the crews of Roland Leong's “Hawaiian,” Ray Godman's “Tennessee Boll Weevil,” and other match drag racers to more than a decade spent covering NASCAR's top series, I've long been drawn to the ground-pounding machines and great personalities of racing. THE VIEW FROM THE PITS offers motorsports' past, present, and future from around the world.http://theviewfromthepits.blogspot.com/